England and Arsenal star Keown makes Oxford Union debut

FORMER England and Arsenal defender Martin Keown was a guest at the Oxford Union debating society yesterday.

The Cowley-born footballer spoke to students at the St Michael’s Street venue about football, before having photos taken with fans.

The 47-year-old, a former player at Garsington FC, is now a pundit for the BBC.

He played for England in the 1998 and 2002 World Cup finals.

Mr Keown said: “When you are growing up in this city you are very much aware of the facilities and the university, so it is nice for me to go to see what is going on.”

One student asked Mr Keown if he would be interested in the vacant manager’s job at Oxford United, but he replied that he had not yet decided to pursue a career in management.

Crawford Jamieson, Oxford Union vice president, said: “Martin talked about his time at Arsenal and where he saw the club going. He also talked about what it was like to be interested in football growing up in Oxford.”